B. SUBMISSIONS BY PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS APPENDIX 3B(1) SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR SUBMISSION FOR THE RECORD Accompanying Testimony by DR. FRANK PRESS President National Academy of Sciences Before The Subcommittee On Europe & the Middle East Committee on Foreign Affairs Thursday, July 31, 1986 10:00 a.m. 2200 Rayburn HOB SCIENTIFIC COOPERATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR The interacademy exchange program between the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (ASUSSR) dates from 1959, and has continued without interruption since that time. In terms of number of exchange visitors, the NAS program represents a relatively small portion of the total exchange of scientists and engineers between the US and the USSR during the past 26 years. At the same time, the program has been the only organized exchange emphasizing joint cooperation in a broad range of the basic sciences. As a nongovernmental program, it has enjoyed considerable stability, effectively bridging many low points in bilateral political relations. Finally, the program offers unique opportunities for individual US scientists to develop cooperative activities tailored to their personal research interests. The NAS program has thus played an important role in attracting US scientists to participate in exchanges; in facilitating access to scientific facilities and to remote geographic areas in the USSR; and in promoting the international character of science by underscoring the importance of Soviet participation in global endeavors. During the 1960s, NAS exchange activity ranged from 22 to 27 individual scientists per year, whose visits totalled between 35 and 90 months in each direction. In 1975, exchange activity reached an all-time peak of 50 individual scientists, with visits totalling 167 months in each direction. In 1981, due to domestic budget reductions, quota was reduced by NAS to 20 scientists for 56 months, and subsequently for 50 months, in each direction. Since that time, the quota has remained constant at a level of 50 months in each direction. In addition to individual research visits, 23 bilateral scientific workshops were sponsored by the two Academies during the 1960s and 1970s. This portion of the exchange program was suspended by the NAS from 1980 to 1986 in response to the internal exile of NAS Foreign Associate Andrey Sakharov to the closed city of Gorkiy. Until 1985, the program was supported exclusively by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and in recent years it has focused primarily on exchanges of individual scientists. A diversification of activities and a broadening of the financial base are currently underway. However, the NSF support will continue to play a central role, particularly in supporting exchanges of individual scientists. NSF support for the program in 1985 was about $400,000. In 1986, this support will decline to about $300,000, with supplemental funding to be provided by the MacArthur Foundation and other private sources. There are, unfortunately, many constraints on US-USSR scientific cooperation. Well-developed linkages between the science and technology communities of the US and the USSR are limited in scope and number. Our knowledge of the technical strengths and weaknesses of the USSR, and particularly the activities of promising young Soviet scientists and engineers, is far from complete. The language barrier frequently inhibits effective interaction, on a professional as well as a personal level. Political differences, security controls and endemic administrative inefficiency within the USSR, as well as weaknesses in the Soviet science and technology support system further complicate cooperative endeavors. US concerns over technology transfer rule out cooperation in sensitive areas and inhibit cooperation in areas which border on sensitivity. Finally, science and technology relations are influenced by fluctuating political relations which can affect the acceptability of certain types of activities and the availability of Government funds. At the same time, the scientific and political benefits of successful cooperation can be substantial. The Soviets are world leaders in various aspects of science, and among the large number of young Soviet scientists and engineers are certainly some of the technical leaders of the future. The geographic spread of the USSR requires its participation in addressing global problems. Past cooperative efforts in various fields have underscored the importance of access to Soviet scientific and technological achievements. Finally, cooperation in science and technology may be one of the most promising ways to bridge the political gulf between the superpowers. Given the foregoing constraints and opportunities, the NAS program has the following objectives: * Advance US science and technology interests by providing access * * to important geographic areas, institutions, individuals, and data sources in the USSR; Improve the basis for international scientific efforts and particularly efforts directed toward global problems by engaging key scientists from the USSR in directly related bilateral activities; Demonstrate new and improved modes of cooperation with the USSR which can improve the effectiveness of science and technology interactions; Improve US understanding of USSR science and technology capabilities, policies, and programs, and of the benefits and limitations of cooperation; * Enlarge the pool of US scientists with expertise in science and * technology activities in the USSR; Contribute to an improved atmosphere for US political, economic, and cultural relations with the USSR. Scientific Benefits from Cooperation: In 1981, an NAS-hosted committee on US-USSR scientific relations and interacademy exchanges chaired by Herbert York agreed that such exchanges are beneficial to the US. The committee concluded that the formal scientific interactions beween the NAS and the ASUSSR were justified on both scientific and political grounds, and that such interactions should certainly continue. This report was consistent with earlier conclusions of an intensive NAS study of the US-USSR interacademy program under the chairmanship of Carl Kaysen published in 1977. The Kaysen panel reported that the interacademy exchange program was worthwhile; that solid scientific benefits had resulted from the program; and that the program was important in strengthening the world scientific community and in keeping abreast of Soviet science. In addition to these formal evaluations, benefits from the program are also reflected in the success of individual projects. Enclosures 1, 2, and 3 document the results of many of these activities. Enclosure 1 identifies recent scientific publications resulting from participation in the NAS individual exchange program. Enclosure 2 describes a sampling of recent successful exchange visits. Enclosure 3 reviews the results of several joint workshops. |